


Day 3- Alternate Universe

by TheEruditeGrammacist



Series: Erudite's Bumbleby Week 2017 [3]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Bumbleby Week 2017, F/F, Flirting, mild alcohol consumption
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-04
Updated: 2017-10-04
Packaged: 2019-01-09 04:16:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12268713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEruditeGrammacist/pseuds/TheEruditeGrammacist
Summary: Blake's bad night takes a turn for the better when she encounters her favorite rock band.





	Day 3- Alternate Universe

**Author's Note:**

> *Shameless self-promotion*
> 
> Well, not really. More of a teaser than anything else. I’m in the process of writing a large project about a Rock Band AU for RWBY, featuring Bumbleby and a few other pairings, so this is mostly to throw the idea out there to see if people are interested. I’m writing it either way, but I’m still curious. So for today’s entry, since the prompt is AU, I’ve elected to give the idea a trial run.
> 
> For those wondering, I’ve had the idea since I made [ this](https://theeruditegrammacist.tumblr.com/post/162520930352/damn-it-yang-now-i-want-to-read-a-bumbleby-fic%22) post, so it’s been in the works for quite a while.
> 
> In the actual story, of course, the scene in this teaser prompt is set to take place a good deal in, so background info is needed here. I’ve edited out the parts that are deeply rooted only in the larger story, but some parts are unavoidable. So, the short version is that Yang, Ruby, Weiss, and Nora form a band called YRWN (pronounced “yearn”) of which Yang is the lead singer/guitarist. Other characters fill other roles in the band, such as Ren as manager. Blake, meanwhile, is a fan of the band.
> 
> More situational context is that Blake and Sun were attending a YRWN concert in a far-off city when Sun runs off in pursuit of something I won’t say because it’ll spoil that part for when I write the full story. But this leaves Blake on her own, and she is discovered by Penny, the lead technician of YRWN.

The hotel doors slid open, and Penny led her starstruck companion through the threshold. Blake’s eyes, wide with awe, darted around the hotel lobby. It was remarkably nondescript. Fancy and high-quality, sure, but nothing to indicate that Remnant’s most popular band was staying there on this leg of their Mistral tour. It was also remarkably empty.

“Ren books the hotels months in advance, and he books the entire hotel. YRWN enjoys their privacy, and we’re something of a large crew,” Penny said, answering Blake’s unasked questions, though her tone made it clear she hadn’t been aware that Blake was wondering them. Blake had noticed during the walk to the hotel that YRWN’s special effects technician enjoyed chattering. “Yang insists that we keep everything in-house. All security teams work directly for Pyrrha, and all our techies and roadies are directly under me.”

Penny’s tone was nonchalant, but the idea was so completely alien to Blake. Blake recognized that this was obviously because Penny worked directly with all of the band’s members on a daily basis, and had even been close friends with all of them before the band even took off. Even still, hearing about her idols from someone so close with them was jarring. She wanted to ask Penny what it was like working with the band. She wanted to ask her if Yang was as amazing of a person in real life as she seemed in concerts and interviews. She wanted to ask Penny a question that was both flattering to the band and thought-provoking, to make a good impression on the woman who worked so closely with the four women whose music had pulled her from one of the darkest places of her life.

Instead, her mind malfunctioned and what came out was nothing but a breathless, “That must get expensive.”

She internally cursed herself. 

Penny shook her head, pulling out her scroll and typing furiously on it. “Oh, no, actually,” Penny said, “The band makes more than enough profits to cover it, and Ren is a very responsible manager. And there we go!” she looked up from her scroll. “I have contacted my assistant Ciel to bring down a charger for your scroll. You should be able to call your Sun friend for assistance. Hopefully, we will not encounter…” 

“Penny!” an irritated voice called from nearby. A woman with green eyes and long red hair tucked through a bronze circlet was rapidly approaching. Blake swallowed heavily. She’d have been a very poor fan of the band to not recognize their legendary head of security, Pyrrha Nikos. 

Penny was unfazed. “Hello, Friend Pyrrha! I was just talking about you!” 

“Penny, who is this?” Pyrrha asked, looking over Blake, who was nervously standing half behind Penny. 

“Oh, this is Blake! She is a big fan of the band! I encountered her out in the street after her scroll died, stranding her without any way to contact her absent friend.”

Pyrrha gave Penny a look that could only be described as  _ scolding. _ “Penny, what have I told you about bringing fans back to hotels? We keep these locations secret for a reason! We hardly need the press finding out where we stay, do you want a repeat of what happened on our last Vacuo tour?”

Penny hung her head. “No,” she said, looking at her feet. “But I did not want to leave Blake alone on the streets of Kuchinashi. And I did not see any other options than taking her back here.” 

“Oh, cut her some slack, Pyrrha,” a new voice sounded. Penny and Pyrrha turned to look at the disturbance, but Blake froze. Her heartbeat pounded loudly in her ears. There was no way. No way that she was  _ actually _ about to meet…

“I mean, would you  _ really _ have left someone out in this sketchy town if you thought you could help them?” Yang Xiao Long strolled into the lobby, immediately incinerating all of Blake’s hopes of forming any coherent thought.

Pyrrha rolled her eyes. “I suppose not,” she said. “Though are you certain there was not a better alternative than bringing her back here? And can she be trusted to not divulge our location?”

Pyrrha’s tone grated on Blake’s nerves. She later blamed her lack of sleep, frustration at her situation, and annoyance at Sun for having ditched her earlier for what happened next: she forgot who she was talking to entirely and said, “She  _ can _ be trusted not to divulge your location, and she  _ also _ does not appreciate being spoken of as if she’s not in the room.”

The silence following this statement was deafening as it caught up to Blake what she’d just said and who she’d said it to. She was half a second from bolting from the room and out into the night, consequences be damned, when Yang doubled over with laughter. 

“ _ Damn _ , you’re feisty! Oh, I love it,” she said between laughs. “But you’re right, too. That was rude, I’m sorry on both my and Pyrrha’s behalf. Let’s start over, cutie.” She winked at Blake, who blushed furiously, overwhelmed at how the night had gone from her being stranded by her best friend to her celebrity crush flirting with her in a mere two hours. Yang extended her hand to Blake, who shook it nervously, praying that her palms weren’t sweaty. “My name’s Yang, but you already knew that. What’s yours?”

“B-Blake Belladonna,” Blake said, cursing herself again for stumbling over her words. Yang grinned, but Blake could see more than bluster and charisma in her smile. Yang could tell that she was nervous, and was trying to reassure her.

“Good to meet you, Blake Belladonna,” Yang said. She gave Blake’s hand a small squeeze before letting go, sending an even deeper flush onto Blake’s face. “And this quiet guy behind me is Ren.” With a start, Blake saw that Lie Ren was indeed standing nearby. She hadn’t even noticed his presence. He nodded in greeting and moved to shake her hand as well. 

“Pyrrha Nikos,” Pyrrha said, her handshake much shorter than Yang’s, who had lingered for what was possibly a greater amount of time than was necessary. Blake hadn’t noticed. Pyrrha shot a somewhat suspicious look at Yang. “If Yang allows you to remain here, then I will defer to her judgment.”

Pyrrha looked as though she was about to say something else, but Penny spoke before she could. “That’s odd,” she said, glancing down at her scroll. “Ciel is usually much more prompt in responding to messages than this.”

“Wait, Ciel?” Ren asked, speaking for the first time. “She’s assisting Nora with rigging her drum set to the sound system. Nora said she wanted ‘more boom.’”

“Is she? Drat! Oh, um, pardon my language,” she said hurriedly. “Ciel is the only person who knows where everything is, I don’t know where another scroll charger would be to assist Blake!”

“Doesn’t Ruby have one in her room?” Ren asked. Penny’s face brightened.

“She does! Thank you, Friend Ren. Friend Blake, would you mind if I took your scroll up to Ruby’s room, and returned it to you when it is charged enough to call?”

Blake nodded and wordlessly handed her scroll to Penny. She accepted it with a wide smile. “I will return it shortly!” she chirped.

“Oh, there’s no rush,” Yang said. She shot a glance toward Blake that made her swallow with a mix of nerves and anticipation. “I think I can keep our guest entertained until you get back.”

Penny nodded in understanding and set off toward the elevators. Pyrrha excused herself as well, claiming that she needed to speak with Weiss.

Blake took a moment to compose herself mentally before turning to Yang. “So… I believe you promised to keep me ‘entertained..?’” she asked, praying she sounded more confident than she felt.

Yang’s face split into another grin. “I did indeed. Ren?” she turned to her manager, who sighed. 

“Fine,” he muttered grudgingly. Yang grinned and grabbed Blake’s hand, pulling the girl who was suddenly internally dying over to the hotel bar.

“It’s one of my favorite perks of Ren booking the entire hotel,” Yang said, answering Blake’s unasked question.

“Usually, I’m able to negotiate with the management to get full control of the alcohol facilities,” Ren explained, moving to stand behind the bar. “It helps, especially given Yang, Nora, and Weiss’s preferred method of ‘after-party’ following some concerts.

“Do you mean..?” Blake trailed off, seeing the answer written in Yang’s eyes.

“Free, unlimited booze,” Yang said, her grin turning downright wicked.

 

-

 

As it turned out, Lie Ren was not only YRWN’s manager, but also their stand-in bartender. He was very good at this job too, apparently, as before long, Blake was in the carefully measured range of being far from drunk, but tipsy enough to completely forget her nerves. 

Yang wasn’t much different. She’d downed three cocktails and regaled Blake with various tales of the misadventures of herself and her bandmates. Blake had, in turn, shared the full extent of how exactly she’d wound up on Yang’s doorstep.

“I suppose I can’t be  _ too _ mad at him,” Blake said amidst shared laughter with Yang, “I’ve known Sun for years now and I’ve never once known him to be able to resist chasing things. Probably for the best, too, since the only reason I’m friends with him is that he kept following me around and I eventually got tired of trying to ditch him.”

“Sounds like exactly how Ruby made friends with Weiss,” Yang chuckled.

“Maybe I should even be grateful,” Blake continued. “I mean, if he hadn’t ditched me tonight, I wouldn’t be sitting here, having drinks with a goddess.”

Yang’s eyebrows shot up. “A goddess, huh?”

Blake’s eyes widened and her face flushed for what had to be the millionth time that night. “That was out loud, wasn’t it?”

“It was, yeah,” Yang said with a smirk. “Don’t worry, you’re not the first person to ever call me that. People usually say it just after sex, though.”

If Blake had not been both tired from the long day and happily tipsy, she would never have found the courage to say the words that spilled out of her mouth next. But the day’s events seemed stacked against her sanity, and she said, “Well, in that case, I’d be more than happy to say it again later tonight.”

Yang’s cocktail glass slipped from her hand and fell over on the countertop. Just as Blake started to fear she’d gone too far, Yang regained her cocky, collected attitude, her gaze becoming almost predatory. Without breaking eye contact with Blake, she raised her voice. “Ren,” she called, “Am I doing anything tonight?”

Her manager frowned. “Yes. You and Weiss are supposed to attend a charity gala in two hours, hosted by one of our biggest sponsors.”

“Okay,” Yang said shooting him a significant glance. “Cancel it. Actually, hell, just send Ruby with Weiss, I don’t care.” her gaze fell back on Blake, who swallowed nervously, her throat suddenly very dry. Yang’s lips spread into a sultry grin. “I’ve found something more important to do tonight.”

**Author's Note:**

> Today’s installment of Erudite’s Bumbleby Week 2017 brought to you by I Burn. Because apparently, I am incapable of writing without mood music
> 
> As I said earlier, this is an interest teaser for a project I’ve been working on for a while, and am almost ready to start posting. Development just happened to coincide with Bumbleby Week, so I figured I’d post this segment ahead of time, and fulfill a prompt while I was at it. And thanks to the magic of editing, this little teaser focuses entirely on Bumbleby, thus is fitting for its ship week, with limited extraneous story and ships. So if you enjoyed this, keep an eye out for the full thing. Coming soon to an archive near you.
> 
> ...Okay, maybe there was a _little_ self-promotion.


End file.
